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Confounding an EPC Surveyor (Historic Interest)


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Thought you lot would love this as a bit of historic trivia

 

Popped home over the weekend to help my dad with a bit of building work. Found out he's been having a few issues with getting an EPC certificate

 

My grandfather John Lowe was a chemical engineer at Lankro Chem Ltd who had a number of patents including foamed phenolic resin (expanding foam) (https://patents.google.com/patent/GB1604657A/en) . Back in 1978, with the help of the his company he created a number of insulated foam sheets, every sheet was handmade in his lab. My father who when converting the old stables he lives in now to a house installed under them under a screed floor in what was apparently the first recorded instance of insulating under concrete slab in the UK.

 

The EPC surveryor is currently having histerics and doesn't know what to do as it predates all records of this technology being used. Dug up some old photos of it being installed and can't use it as they aren't time stamped and then go lost again after explaining that cameras back then didn't do time stamps.

 

FoamOnFloor.thumb.jpg.a6250664b24887e9c3c870c442a83397.jpg

 

FoamOnFloor2.thumb.jpg.91c4b57bce1833146220462650e506b1.jpg

 

Screed.thumb.jpg.ac32cf3f2df90f80eddd5a7ae36abeed.jpg

 

 

Edited by memnoch
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Haha that would be common sense. We’ve still got some of the original off cuts in the roof somewhere. 

 

photoshopping dates onto the photos might be easier at this rate.


Will win that battle eventually, more interested in the history. Learn something new everyday.

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9 hours ago, memnoch said:

more interested in the history.

Yes, quite fascinating! A remember getting hold of some resin and activator somewhen around 1980 and filling the inside of some panels in a custom car I was building, around the time it was starting to take off as a useful product in GRP construction. I didn't see it used in buildings for a least another decade. But it appears it was first invented in the 40's by Mr.  polyurethane - Otto Bayer

patent for the synthesis of polyurethanes out of poly-isocyanate and polyol

1937_1952_Prof_Otto_Bayer_Polyurethan.jpg.f94f0107985cc41b82c3fb003186ebe5.jpg

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23 minutes ago, Temp said:

Drill a small hole in the floor so he can see the drill bit disappear into the foam? 

Yup. We had to drill hole into wall. However I don't see why a temperature sensor won't do the job on a hot or cold day. They use them to tell you when it isn't there!!!!

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